After a series of catastrophic floods on the Colorado River through Austin (enough to take out the city’s dam), the river needed to be brought under control. In 1931 the first stage of that process was begun: construction of the then dubbed “Hamilton Dam” by a company controlled by Samuel Insull. Unfortunately, Insull’s highly leveraged public utility holding company collapsed during the Great Depression, with the dam less than half completed. In 1934, the Texas legislature authorized the formation of the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) to complete the Hamilton dam. Following its completion in 1937, the dam was renamed for U.S. Representative James P. Buchanan, a strong advocate of the overall plan and key in getting funding through the Public Works Administration.
Buchanan was succeeded by Lyndon Johnson, who realized the potential LCRA and its dams offered the region. He persuaded LCRA to use the dams’ hydroelectric power to benefit Central Texas communities and rural areas (the sale of which helped finance completion of the Lakes system and other LCRA projects). LCRA manpower strung the lines that brought electricity to customers of the region's first two electric cooperatives: Pedernales and what is today Bluebonnet.
A massive flood in 1938 forced LCRA to open 22 of Buchanan Dam's 37 floodgates – a record for that dam – devastating areas downstream. Critics charged LCRA had worsened the flood by its operation of Buchanan Dam; LCRA countered that since Buchanan Dam was just the first in the series of four planned flood control dams, flood prevention would not be possible until all were finished. A subsequent Texas Senate investigation not only exonerated LCRA but also determined that Mansfield Dam should be increased an additional 80 feet to its current height of 278 feet to provide more protection to Austin and downstream communities – but I digress.
Creating the first and largest of the Highland Lakes, Buchanan Dam is an architectural rarity: stretching for more than two miles, it is considered the longest multiple-arch dam in the nation. The multiple arch design is no longer used because the amount of labor it requires makes construction too expensive. The irony of construction economics: today's dams require far less labor, but a thousand times more materials.
Buchanan Dam was dedicated October 16, 1937 and began producing hydroelectric power in January 1938.
The waymark’s coordinates are of the dam itself.
Good downstream viewing can be had from the Lake Buchanan Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center (N30 44.870 W098 24.389. Close upstream views of the Southmost arched sequence are had from the OLD visitor center (note, not even the restrooms are public any more) at N30 44.659 W098 25.034; and an excellent panoramic lakeside view can be had from N30 45.733 W098 27.426 next to Black Rock Park (or pay admission and go into the park);
It is also worth taking a satellite view of the dam through Google Earth or the like – just to get the SCALE of the thing.
BUCHANAN DAM FAQs (courtesy LCRA - (
visit link)
Location: Burnet and Llano counties, 414 river miles from the Gulf of Mexico
When built: Started 1931, completed 1935 to 1938
Dimensions: 145.5 feet high, 10,987.55 feet long
Primary purpose: Water supply, hydroelectric power
Generating capacity: 54.9 megawatts
Water supply storage capacity: 285.3 billion gallons
Top of dam: 1,025 feet above msl
Floodgates: 37
Discharge capacity: 347,300 cubic feet per second (cfs):
• 7 large floodgates @ 18,800 cfs each
• 30 small floodgates @ 7,000 cfs each
• 3 turbines @ 1,900 cfs each
Original name: Hamilton Dam
Alternate coordinates:
Lake Buchanan Visitor Center—great view of the lake, although the Visitor Center itself has been closed, I understand: N 30° 44.663 W 098° 25.027
For more background, see:
LCRA slideshow re: Buchanan Dam (
visit link)
Buchanan Dam and Lake Buchanan; Two-mile-long structure is an architectural rarity (
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LCRA's Historic Moment: History of the Highland Lakes (
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The history of LCRA Early years and first critical test (
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LCRA dams form the Highland Lakes
Structures designed for flood management, water supply, hydroelectricity (
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Buchanan Dam (
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Texas State Historical Association The Handbook of Texas Online:
Lake Buchanan (
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Lower Colorado River Authority (
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Official Lake Buchanan Visitors’ Guide (
visit link)